| Readings in the History of Æsthetics: An Open-Source Reader; Ver. 0.11 | ||
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Compare Nietzsche's description of the Dionysian and the Apollonian manner of transforming artistic values of life with Plato's distinction of the two principles of soul, the irrational and the rational in Book X of The Republic.
Explain how Nietzsche concludes that identifying æsthetic form with beauty in art is the trait of a decadent nihilism.
Discuss whether Nietzsche sees the Dionysian and Apollonian spirits of art as polar opposites. Or is the Dionysian irrationality just the recognition of the untruth and failure of the measured restraint and Nay-saying aspects of the Apollonian state?
Thoroughly discuss the role of tragic pessimism in Nietzsche's account of æsthetics. What role does beauty have in Nietzsche's theory of art?